


La Vie en Lavende

by Feuerrot



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Circus, Class Swapping, Fake Dating, Festival, Flirting, Flowers, Fluff, Free day, Kindness, Loads of Widomauk, Mischief, Modern, Mollymauk Lives Fest, Other, Resurrection, Tarot, beaujester, but only minor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-10-09
Packaged: 2020-10-25 09:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20722229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feuerrot/pseuds/Feuerrot
Summary: Written for the Mollymauk Lives Fest... Then forgot about it and now found it again. It is primarily Widomauk, Yasha&Molly on Day 4 and more awesome friendship vibes on Day 6.Prompts used:Day 1 - Tarot/Fake DatingDay 2 - Class Swap/CircusDay 3 - Dancing/PiratesDay 4 - Mischief/FestivalDay 5 - Resurrection/FlowersDay 6 - Modern/KindnessDay 7 - Free DayWork is following a somewhat logical timeline from Day 1 to Day 6 <3Now COMPLETE





	1. Day 1 - Fake Dating/Tarot

“She’s still staring.” Molly whispers, leaning closer to Caleb. Too close for comfort, Caleb feels his heart beat faster in his chest as a cloud of Molly’s distinct smell wafts over him.

“Huh-“ He just says, ducking down lower over his coffee and book.

“Don’t look.”

“Shouldn’t we do something about that?” Jester whispers, leaning in as well to join their little meeting in the middle of the table.

Shaking his head mutely, Caleb tries to banish Astrid from his mind, tries to ignore the feeling of her eyes burning into his neck.

“She’ll… get over it.”

“It’s been months!” Mollymauk hisses, taking an angry sip. He puts his cup down, tail tapping against a leg of his chair.

“And she’s being really toxic, invading all your spots, which she, if I remember correctly, didn’t like in the first place and even made you feel bad about. So, what is she doing here?”

Jester has a point, Caleb thinks. Astrid never liked Caduceus’ shop, saying it smelled funny, the tea was probably mixed with drugs. She then went on about the crowd, being racist. Caleb is still shocked that the girl he has known since childhood had developed into such a character, though he would bet his left hand that Ikithon was to be blamed for it.

But months after their break-up, Caleb doesn’t want to spare any energy to deal with her. Doesn’t have to, he thinks. He’s living his life, has new friends and they are a colorful bunch that he loves. He has more of a social life than ever before, gets out regularly and his touch starvation has even become manageable thanks to Caduceus, Nott and Jester being cuddly on their movie nights. Fjord takes him to his sports games, and they got into mild weight training, Yasha tagging along sometimes to flabbergast everybody present when she bench-presses her own body weight. Beau had been watching his back from the first day as he turned up at her doorstep, giving him a refuge until Astrid stopped pestering him at his dorm room. And how would he have made it through that horrible post break-up months without Mollymauk? He’d been Caleb’s shield, Caleb’s lighthouse, breaking the waves of comments and going up against Astrid or Eodwulf on multiple occasions alongside Nott. Whenever he’d felt sick about going outside and running into them, the tiefling by his side had always promised that no harm would come to him and they had never had to break that promise.

Which meant that even though the girl was in the same room, throwing angry glances his way, she’d never dare to walk over to drop toxic comments on him. She’d been burned before for daring to do such a thing.

A hand sneaks into his view, lavender with nails painted white. His own hand just goes for it, not waiting for the okay from his brain. Molly squeezes, thumb rubbing over Caleb’s knuckles.

“I can’t believe she still thinks she can bully you back into a relationship with her.”

Caleb sighs, leaning around the corner of the table to settle his head on Molly’s shoulder.

“It’s not her fault. There are… expectations she has to meet… And I was one of the few suitable.”

“Shh-“ Molly soothes him, his tail fluttering at the tip.

“You don’t have to find an explanation for her actions. They were bad and that’s it. Well, she only got herself to blame. We won’t let her hurt you anymore.” Jester says, draining her cup.

“And I have a plan.”

It’s a plan that makes Caleb’s heart stop on multiple occasions: while Jester explains it, as Molly agrees, in the moment Caleb nods to agree and as it happens for the first time. The first time Mollymauk Tealeaf turns towards Caleb Widogast and presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth. His face burns, Caleb knows he must be red as a stop light, hand gripping tight to Molly’s.

A garbled mess of sounds drops from his lips as Mollymauk chuckles.

“You look so red, love. You alright?”

Caleb, instead of answering, just controls his breath, sitting up to minimize body contact and the flood of sensations trying to drag him under.

“You’ll see! That’s gonna throw her off.” Jester chirps, grinning into her empty cup.

“If we make her think that you are really gay and in no way straight, we’ll ruin you completely for her, so that she can’t possible keep up the delusion of ever dragging you back into a relationship! We just have to make her despise you so much that it outweighs the benefits of being with you.” The sour taste in Caleb’s mouth vanishes with another sip of his coffee. He looks over to Jester.

Do her eyes sparkle? Caleb is not sure, he could be having problems with his vision due to a lack of oxygen. Mollymauk next to him smiles, very smugly.

“I agree with Jester, and I’m happy to help. My darling.” And he leans closer to nuzzle his nose into Caleb’s temple and the ginger is gone, his heart a fluttering mess. How is he supposed to survive this fake dating when he’s so smitten with Mollymauk. What if he does something reckless on the spur of the moment? At the same time, his body is tingly all over and his hand won’t let go of Molly’s. Caleb guesses that if their idea won’t work to deter Astrid, he exaggeratingly thinks that he’ll probably die in the process and still get away from her for good.

The common occurrence of Astrid standing at a corner of the hallway he has to cross, the table she occupies at Caduceus’ café, the spot she likes to steal from him in the library and even the one bicycle stand he likes to use are becoming a different kind of stressful location for Caleb. Because over the next weeks, and curse Mollymauk, but the tiefling has just as perfect a grasp of Caleb’s schedule as Astrid, which means that he’s there every time to hold Caleb’s hand, kiss his cheek, say something mushy when they’re in earshot or wind his tail around Caleb’s waist to pull him against his side.

Caleb feels torn between heaven and hell as he presses into Molly’s soft body, winding an arm around his middle to steady himself as they walk past Astrid. Molly is really warm, he finds, and he briefly regrets that he didn’t get to cuddle with him on a movie night yet. Then again, it was probably for the best or he’d do something bad in the dark, with the flickering lights dancing over Molly’s beautiful face.

He’s also coming to the conclusion that Molly’s scent must be hard-wiring his brain to get excited like a puppy whenever he catches it travelling through the air.

The tiefling becomes a sanctuary to Caleb, a common occurrence in his daily life that he had been craving but never brave enough to ask for. They share lunch, they meet in the hallway, go to sit on the lawn with their group of friends and everyday it’s more wonderful, Caleb thinks. A small peek into paradise. But every day, it also becomes harder for Caleb to say goodbye to Molly when they part on their way home. To not ask if maybe he could accompany him home, saying he wants to visit Jester as a ruse. Caleb has forgotten about Astrid, doesn’t see her anymore even if she’s there in plain sight, he only has eyes for the tiefling by his side and the maelstrom of feeling in his chest. His heart is so heavy with the knowledge that they are just playing couple, it keeps him awake some nights.

After an exceptionally good day, Caleb sits alone at home, Nott is out with her boyfriend. She left him food in the fridge to warm up, Frumpkin is sitting in his lap. His life is nice, really. And today is even better, because there is a message sitting on his phone from Astrid, telling him that she despises him, and she never wants to see him again. She goes on a little longer, but Caleb stopped after the third sentence, relief bubbling in his chest. But at the same time, he feels hollow.

Blinking a few times, he sighs. Caleb has won against Astrid, but it is a pyrrhic victory, because to achieve it he got a taste of what being in a relationship with Mollymauk Tealeaf is like. And he also knows that this is just the tiefling pretending, the ginger can’t possibly fathom what the real deal would be like. Caleb knows the farce is about to end soon, that he’s never going to have it for real.

Caleb feels like shit in that moment and can’t celebrate his victory.

The next day, Caleb tells his friends that their plan worked and they all cheer. The rumor that Caleb is gay has infested the whole school, making people throw glances his way but he doesn’t care, because he knows for sure now that he is at least bisexual. And not giving a damn. Jester and Nott propose a celebration, dragging them all home to Jester, Yasha and Molly’s house. As foreign kids, they had been taken in by locals, so they all greet their guardian Gustav as they slink into the house. They open packs of crisps, eat too much chocolate and drink sodas in all colors of the rainbow while being loud and overall cheerful.

Molly tones down on his affections, Caleb immediately takes notice, only bumps his shoulder from time to time. No more tails wrapping around his waist, only an occasional squeeze of a hand as Caleb is too distracted to reign in his by now routine behavior. Not like the constant handholding or the random kiss to his temple anymore. Playing along and acting relieved that he has his ex-girlfriend off his back, Caleb sips on his coke and tries to forget.

After hours of sitting together, Fjord is the first to take his leave, accompanied by Beau because their dorm closes earlier than Caleb and Nott’s. As Nott passes out two hours later, sleeping soundly, Jester announces that she’s also going to bed and takes the goblin with her. Yasha sneaks out of the room with a murmured “Good night.”.

Jovially, Molly bumps Caleb’s shoulder again.

“Want to stay over too? We got a couch, you can borrow some PJs from me if you don’t mind the color. But then again, it’s gonna be dark and you don’t see in the dark.” He laughs.

Caleb’s grip on his glass grows tighter.

“I don’t know, Molly-“

“Come on, it’s no big deal.”

Caleb gets pulled up from the ground by two big, warm hands. His heart gives a weak stutter, but he’s become achingly good at fighting down the excitement that accompanies it. Molly drags Caleb along to his room and starts to rummage through his closet. While he does that, Caleb’s eyes wander over his room. He’s been here a couple of times, but most times they all sat in the living room or in Jester’s room as it has the balcony. But if Caleb had to describe Molly’s room, he’d say it reminds him of a cozy pillow fortress. The walls have a warm color, there are curtains surrounding the bed, pillows and blankets piled onto it. A cozy armchair settled into one corner, a small desk with fairy lights and pictures of their friend group. The carpet is thick and soft, a mountain of robes, scarves and cardigans hang on three hooks from the door and the window is covered by gauzy curtains. Overall, everything is so soft, warm, cozy and so filled with Mollymauk and Mollymauk’s scent that Caleb has a hard time to keep himself from crawling into the tiefling’s bed to see where it might lead them if he refuses to get out. Eyes landing on a stack of cards, Caleb silently walks over to the desk, leaving Molly to select appropriate nightclothes for him. It looks like the tiefling is about to burrow into the closet with his whole body.

Caleb thumbs over the cards surface, then takes the stack up and starts to shuffle them. The sound seems to alert Molly, he frees himself from the mountain of clothes to look around to Caleb.

“Can you read tarot?” He asks, pointing towards the cards. Shaking his head, Caleb goes on, distracting himself from his inappropriate thoughts. Molly hums, stepping closer.

“Wait, lets try. I’ll think of a question and you lay the cards down, okay? I want to know how you’re going to interpret the cards.”

“Oh- uhm-“

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get cozy first.” Molly grins, throwing a long-sleeved shirt and long pants at Caleb.

“You know where the bathroom is.”

Caleb quickly leaves the room, locking himself into the bathroom. The PJs are cream colored, have a deep neckline and there are ribbons sewn on. Caleb’s face is growing hot as he contemplates if he should forego the shirt and just put on the plain silk pants. But then he’d be shirtless, in Molly’s presence… The ginger shakes his head and slips the PJs on, ignoring the pleasant scent enveloping him. A little bit of his sparse chest hair is visible above the neckline and Caleb blushes slightly.

What had Molly been thinking as he selected these? And what other clothes were hiding in that closet if these were some acceptable ones?

As he shuffles back into Molly’s room, his clothes bundled under his arm, Caleb has just about managed to reign in his blush and quick-paced heartbeat. The first thing he notices, is that the lights are dimmed, and soft music is playing, the tiefling himself is seated on the bed. Caleb stops dead in his tracks, blinking at the change in atmosphere. Molly is wearing a fluffy robe, wrapped around him snugly and Caleb hazards that he’s naked underneath, because they all know Molly sleeps nude. He’s told them on multiple occasions.

“Come here, Caleb. Let’s see what the future holds, eh?”

Climbing onto the bed feels like crossing a threshold to Caleb, like he is going past the point of no return as he settles into the soft mattress and mountain of pillows. He’s made it into Molly’s bed, finally, a small voice in his head pipes up and he shuts it down immediately.

Taking the cards back up, Caleb starts to shuffle.

“Uh- I think you have to think about you question now, right?”

Molly nods eagerly, closing his eyes. Caleb takes a moment to look at the tiefling, bare of jewelry and make-up, his hands settled in his lap. Then he concentrates on the cards again, letting his gaze wander through the room. A few times he fumbles, but always manages to catch them in his hands. After some more shuffling he thinks it’s enough.

“Okay, uhm- now I just lay them down?”

“I’ll pull three.” Molly tells him, extending a hand.

“Spread them out for me.”

Caleb does that, watching Molly’s tail flicks lazily on top of the blankets. He puts the cards down and just pushed to form a line on the sheets, there are too many for him to hold in his hands. As he goes, he admires their beautiful backsides, until suddenly, there is one card that’s flipped the other way, facing upwards.

“Oh… I messed up.” He says, reaching out for the card but Molly’s hand stops him.

“That’s what tarot cards sometimes do to tell us what they have to say. Let’s see what it is.”

Gently, Molly pushes the other cards aside and sucks in a surprised breath. Caleb leans forward as well, then he makes a tiny sound in his throat.

“Oh dear.” Mollymauk laughs.

“This card is- uhm- very graphic.” Caleb whispers, eyes fixed on the two people entwined in a loving embrace with their mouths firmly attached to each other.

“I feel called out, honestly.” The tiefling chuckles, pulling the card out and inspecting it.

“Should have known better than to let you interpret them, of course they would speak as blatantly as possible to someone who has never done tarot before.”

“I feel offended. I remember a few things you told me about it.” The ginger mumbles.

“Sorry, don’t be.” Molly quickly tries to soothe him.

“It’s- they are acting out like that because they are fed up with me.” He talks about the cards like they have a mind of their own, Caleb thinks.

“Okay?” Caleb asks skeptically, raising his eyebrows.

“What was the question?”

“I- “ Hesitating, Molly puts the card down and tangles his fingers together.

“After the last weeks… I wanted to know how things between us-“

Caleb sits very still, his eyes staring at the card in front of him.

“How our friendship would go from there. And, if- if we would go back to before or… maybe…”

Caleb’s muscles kick into motion before he can realize what he’s doing, but suddenly he rises to his knees, balancing precariously on the pillows, and reaches for Mollymauk.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” He says, hoarsely but determined. Molly’s eyes grow big and he leans forward too.

“On the mouth?” The tiefling wonders, and Caleb laughs.

“Of course, you idiot.”

Then the world suddenly tilts, and Caleb is falling off the bed as two satin pillows make his pants slip and he loses his balance. Molly yelps and jumps after him, they both topple to the ground with Caleb landing squarely on Molly. The tiefling gasps, but his grip on Caleb’s shoulders remains tight.

“What- what are you doing?” Caleb huffs, sitting up.

“Keeping an eye out for my lovely, as I’ve been doing for the past weeks.” Molly laughs, settling his hands on Caleb’s waist. He’s straddling Molly, Caleb realizes, and he feels heat flood his cheeks as he grows red. They both take each other in, and Molly bites his lower lip.

“So… there was mention of a kiss?” He inquires in a sultry tone, gently playing with the PJ’s gaudy stitched-on ribbons at Caleb’s hips.

“I-“ The ginger stammers, his hands coming up to curl into the robe on Molly’s chest, the tiefling’s grin melting into a soft smile. Caleb feels his mind going up in flames at the sheer possibilities and with how much he wants to kiss Molly and be good at it. Oh gods, he hopes Molly likes kissing him...

He leans in and presses his lips against Molly’s, who squeaks happily. The lavender lips are soft and hot, feeling absolutely dreamy against Caleb’s mouth and he gasps, quickly drawing back again. Molly grins up at him, tail sneaking around Caleb’s waist.

“Well, wow, Mr. Caleb. That was quite… a kiss. A peck. Like a wood pecker peck.” The tiefling laughs with a blush high on his cheeks.

Caleb blinks for a moment, then stutters and quickly starts to disentangle himself from Molly, well on his way to flee to the living room couch.

“No, Caleb, please! It was wonderful! I want another!” Molly calls after him, hot on his heels to catch the ginger before he manages to leave the room. Arms wind around Caleb’s middle and he fights to not go lax right away, as Molly’s body presses against him from behind.

“Stay, my lovely.”


	2. Day 2 - Class Swap/Circus

“Oi, Tealeaf! That was the last time you did me this dirty!” Beau Lionett hollers through the teacher’s lounge.

“What did he do this time?” Fjord asks as he pours himself the fifth cup of coffee of the day, ogles the cake standing next to it and decides against a third slice. Jester’s baking is delicious and dangerous. They call it the DnD of the teacher’s lounge. Mollymauk is reclining in his favorite spot, the seat underneath the second window from the left, next to a large monstera plant and the only colorful wall accent of the whole lounge. A broad, blue stripe from floor to ceiling.

“What’s that, Beau?” He grins, foot tapping idly underneath the table.

Beau walks over and slaps a stack of papers down next to Mollymauk’s laptop.

“That’s the class assignment you gave to your class last week. To COMPLEMENT my supplement lecture yesterday, as you were off doing….stuff! You know I fucking-“

“BEAU!” Jester bellows from the door where she is talking to a pupil. The girl looks at Beau with big eyes.

Beau huffs and calms herself for five seconds.

“Sorry, Jessie.” She then says and turns back around to Mollymauk, lightning in her eyes.

“They each wrote three pages worth of an interpretation of the Hamilton musical’s rapping passages in regard to modern political debate styles. What the fudge?!“ Beau looks pointedly over to Jester, then turns back around.

“I don’t know why you are so upset my dear Beauregard. Alexander Hamilton was a very important figure in the history of the United States of America and the musical is a wonderful stage piece with riveting melodies and lyrics written by a genius.”

“Yeah, that’s how about all of those essays start or end. I know, Tealeaf, that you know from Caleb, who is your boyfriend, who knows from Jester, because those two go out for tea once a week and she is my girlfriend, that I have literally had it up to here-“ And she holds her hand well above her head “-with the fudging Hamilton musical! Jester has it on repeat all fudging day! And it has been three motherfudging weeks-”

“BEAU!”

“Sorry Jessie!” Beau calls over her shoulder, wincing at the hurt look in Jester’s face. She turns back around to look down at Molly, pinching the bridge of her nose with two fingers.

“See, now I really don’t understand why you’re telling me all this.” Molly shrugs and resumes typing on his laptop.

“First of all, I congratulate you for bravely enduring such a stressful period of time without breaking your relationship, three weeks of torment is a lot. At least I hope the slightly angry sex was good. Secondly, I am very proud that you finally got the word out to Jester, though I have to say the way you did it was less than ideal.” He nods towards his laptop and looks up at her, leaning forward with a smirk.

“See me as merely being a catalyst to your true wishes and desires, the evolution towards a new Beauregard.”

A shadow falls over Mollymauk’s form and Caleb puts a steaming cup of tea on top of his head. The tiefling goes still immediately, his shoulders locking into place.

“Behave yourself, Mollymauk. I told you these things because I thought we should talk to Jester, not make Beau miserable and make her shout it through the teacher’s lounge so that Jester hears it. She has been tormenting us with Hamilton as well.”

“Maybe, but I know Beau has it in her to step up and do the job for us, which she did.”

Beau buries her face in both hands and groans loudly. One hand lands on her shoulder and another pats her hip.

“There, there.” The teacher couple offers almost automatically, and both look at her like someone kicked her fucking puppy, at least Caleb seems to mean it while Molly still has this twinkle in his eyes.

“Alright, I’ll talk to her, in private this time.”

“We are in your debt, figuratively. And, of course sorry-” Caleb looks at Molly, who still has a steaming cup of tea sitting on his head. Drawing a deep breath to express his suffering, Molly sighs.

“Sorry, Beauregard.”

Caleb gives a solemn nod, then takes the cup from his partner’s head. He hooks his foot under the chair next to Mollymauk, and as he sinks down, he drags the chair over the floor to be closer to his the tiefling. The loud screech making Fjord jump and swear as he spills some of his coffee.

“Motherfuc-“

“FJORD NOT YOU TOO!” Jester bellows, her face growing red and the pupil quickly walks away.

Caleb ducks down a little, then smooches Mollymauk on the cheek, the tiefling looking absolutely smitten. Beau’s eyes alternate between the two, suppressing a gag at how in love Molly looks as he leans into his boyfriend.

“And what am I supposed to do with these f- essays?”

“Those essays were actually meant for me, but Molly hacked the system to put you in as supplement.” Caleb sighs and holds out his hand.

“Caleb! Don’t tell her about my secret weapon! I wanted to drag her to the circus with the little ones next week!”


	3. Day 3 - Dancing/Pirates

“Left foot, tap, right foot tap, and turn!”

“Molly-“

“And turn!”

“Yes, my dear?”

“One two three, left foot, tap, right foot, tap…”

“Is it too late to stop it all?”

Molly snorts and tilts his head lightly, trying not to look down on his feet.

“Stop what, Caleb?”

“Everything. It’s….it’s so much to do and so many things to go wrong.” Caleb says, his tone heavy like his feet and his posture a little hopeless.

“We are almost done. Only a few more weeks and I’ll tell you, it’ll be worth everything.”

Gripping tighter on their joined hands, Caleb steps into the turn and twirls Molly outward, the practice skirt the tiefling wears flaring out dramatically and wrapping around his muscular legs.

“Everything?” The ginger asks as his partner steps back into his arms. Mollymauk leans over and kisses him on a smooth cheek, leaving a red lip stick mark.

“Everything and more. Even the one time that Yasha almost got run over by that asshole bicycle driver as she went to get our headpiece.”

“Does she still wear her cask?”

“Well, unfortunately broken arms don’t heal as fast as broken dreams of meeting the cute florist again. On the other hand, broken dreams might still prove to be the trickier thing.” The tiefling furrows his brow.

“Alright, ten minute break!” The instructor calls and the six other couples in the room take a deep breath and disperse. Caleb and Molly stay where they are, swaying gently to their own heartbeats.

“You know that I love you?” Molly asks, rubbing his thumb over Caleb’s knuckles.

“I do. And I love you too.”

“So… if it was really too much for you… I’d be okay with just calling it all off.”

Caleb’s eyes grow big and he feels an immediate sense of relief bubble up in his chest, then quickly shoves it down again. They have been planning for months, mostly Molly has been planning for months, placing deposits and booking a venue, selecting catering, finding the band. It’s not pompous, it’s not expensive, but it has been so much work between both their busy lives.

“You would do that?” He asks tentatively.

“I’d still make me a little unhappy, I’m not going to lie. But you are more important than this. And I won’t be some kind of asshole, telling you to ‘power through’ for one day.”

Caleb chuckles, leaning his forehead against Molly’s.

“That’s true. You’re sweet and understanding, I’m the one being the asshole for wanting to cancel all of it.”

A small sound of protest comes from Mollymauk.

“You’re not-“

“But” Caleb continues “I can’t stop thinking. What if the cake falls over? Or Nott falls into the cake because she is drunk? What if the musicians are late or they forget their scores. Oh Gods, what if I forget the rings? Step on your dress because I didn’t pay enough attention today because of these thoughts, and then there could be-“

A warm hand lands on the side of Caleb’s face and he quiets down. Molly is looking at him with understanding eyes, burning bright red.

“Imagine” Molly whispers, leaning in closer to Caleb. His heels make the one and a half inches he’s normally missing disappear and give him two on top.

“You’ll be standing there, waiting for me to come down the aisle. There will be our friends, crying and laughing on that day. And as I walk in, they all won’t matter anymore. Because all that is important in that moment, on that day, will be you and me. I don’t care if the cake catches fire or if the musicians forget their instruments or if a band of pirates come to kidnap me and demand ransom.”

Caleb giggles, gripping Molly tighter to his front. He makes a serious face, squaring his shoulders.

“I’ll fight them, on the spot. They won’t make it over the doorstep.”

“Oh, you’re so sweet and now I’m slightly worried for our damage deposit if you let fireballs rain on them.” Caleb’s eyes twinkle, the shimmer of daring in them and Molly is living for it. He leans down to kiss Caleb and the ginger leans up, balancing on his toes. They are slow and loving, sighing against each other’s lips before they part, eyes glowing with adoration. Lifting his hand again to stroke his thumb over Caleb’s cheek, Molly smiles.

“The only thing important on that day is that we love each other and that I’ll get to say yes to having you in my life till death do us part.”

To drive the point home, he gently places another kiss to Caleb’s lips, feeling the corners of the ginger’s mouth lift into a crooked smile.

“You’ll be beautiful.” Caleb sighs, letting his hands wander down to Molly’s waist. He squeezes gently and takes a deep breath.

“It’s going to be alright.” The tiefling reassures him, then he grins and dips a squeaking Caleb.


	4. Day 4 - Mischief/Festival

It’s their week.

One week in autumn, Yasha and Mollymauk leave town with backpacks slung over their shoulders, sleeping bags and yoga mats strapped to them. They start hiking a good couple of miles away and make their way up towards a symphonic metal festival. The venue being in a forest, the trees are hung with medieval flair, lanterns and banners lighting the foliage up in emeralds and peridots. Food stalls, small stages with live bands and live artists fill the spaces between the trees, the people dressed like vikings, knights, ladies and many other things, they’re covered in furs, colorful fabrics and trinkets. With tinkling bells, bracelets and necklaces, in fantastic styles or historically correct, it’s a beautiful potpourri of creatures with the same goal.

To have beautiful days, filled with music and good food, while living freely.

Mollymauk and Yasha blend right in, both portraying their festival personas with bravado. While Mollymauk rises early to go around the festival area, Yasha just pats him amicably and turns over to sleep longer. The tiefling is covered in a teller coat with elaborate embroidery as he stalks through the crowd filling the forest, his boots up to the middle of his thighs with heels that make heads turn with their sound from far off. The cards in his hands dance hypnotically, the mask concealing the upper half of his face modelled after a peacock with his beak curving dangerously over his nose. Yasha is a late riser, crawling out of her sleeping bag and starting to cook around 11 am. Molly comes back at noon, small cash filling his pockets and a large grin on his face. They sit together and Yasha listens to her friend recounting the various people he just met or got to read their fortune for. Looking over the sea of tents in different sizes and shapes, they eat stir fry for dinner. After that, Mollymauk does the dishes and then they sit down to get Yasha ready for her afternoon.

Carefully, Molly helps the aasimar with her lace and leather outfit, dabbing blue paint onto her forehead and down to her eyes. He magically changes her into a barbarian with a fearsome face, braids and dreads with pearls falling over her shoulders in an impressive mane. Shouldering her broadsword, she offers her arm to him and he gladly slides his arm through hers as they walk back towards the festival. The atmosphere is electric, loud and filled with laughter, the music making them sway and dance, giggle into the small bowls of stew, meat broth and other medieval inspired foods. And as the night drops through the leaves and darkens the forest, the lights go on and it’s a fairy land that spreads around them. The evening concerts are filled with hard riffs of guitars and the rhythm of drums, singers and violins battling to fill the songs with melody while the crowd cheers and screams as they dance. And dance. And dance.

It is long past midnight, past the witching hour, when Molly and Yasha return to their tent to crawl inside. Dabbing each other’s faces with wet towels and make-up remover they are quiet, letting the day’s energies seep from them into the ground below. They snuggle close, each in their respective sleeping bag but still arms wrap around each other. Yasha throws a heavy quilt over them both, then they lean their foreheads together before they fall asleep.

Yasha dreams of thunder, the beautiful shades of violet, grey and white. When the world feels charged and focused, when it feels manageable to her and not overwhelming anymore. She dreams of beauty and the blooming lights in the clouds.

Mollymauk dreams of fire, the one that he wants to spill from his lips one day towards the sky, orange and bright yellow to paint his lavender skin in different hues. The fire is more than just heat to him, it’s the warmth of love and his lover’s hair, next to being caught in his own eyes.

It’s a week just for them, souls swept up in the river of life that somehow managed to cling to each other while the currents around them keep on passing and nudging them in various directions.

But in this one week, it’s just them and a small bubble of time just for them.

It’s simply Molly and Yasha, alone with each other, and small whispers of “I love you.”


	5. Day 5 - Resurrection/Flowers

Stepping in front of the mirror, Mollymauk Tealeaf strikes a dramatic pose. He’s radiant, he’s confident, he’s slaying with his outfit of choice. In fact, Caleb is so dumbstruck that words fail him as he takes his husband, fellow godfather and dream of sleepless nights in with all his glory.

“What- what in all hells are you wearing?” He gasps, blinking.

“Isn’t it obvious. I’m resurrecting this trend, it’s gorgeous and shouldn’t be buried in my wardrobe.” Molly announces, turning once more to show off the details.

The coat is patchwork, embroidered with pearls and small coins, making as much sound as it is colourfully loud. The sleeves are made of two parts, one to go over his arms with ribbons to be attached to the billowing sleeves sprouting from the coat’s shoulders. The inside is as intricate as the outside, filled with flowers stitched onto plain white satin, making it obvious that the coat is in fact, two pieces in one.

The babe giggles while securely held in a baby sling wrapped around Molly’s torso as he turns.

“She likes it.” He grins over to his husband, fellow godfather and dream of sleepless nights, the ring on his finger sparkling as he gently lays his hand over the babe’s back.

She’s warm and soft, perfect in the way she snuggles against Molly’s front.

“She’s only three months old, she can’t see.” Caleb groans, shielding his own eyes from the onslaught of colour.

“No, I’m pretty sure our sweet little Viola can see just fine with her heart and she knows it’s beautiful!”

Hearing her name, Viola stretches up with a squeak, catching one of Molly’s locks to tug on it. Then she proceeds to put it in her mouth. Staring down at her with his red eyes wide, Molly feels himself vibrate in place.

“Caleb- help! She’s too cute!”

Hearing the excitement in Mollymauk’s voice, Caleb steps closer and pulls the tiefling into his chest, tenderly stroking over the small tiefling’s downy head.

“She’ll inherit all the Jester traits, just you see. In three years, she’ll be drawing… whatever small children draw everywhere.” He bends down to coo over Viola, her bright blue eyes have yet to darken into their real colour.

“Isn’t that right, Viola? Drawing everywhere?”

The babe squeaks again, head lolling into Molly’s chest, who blushes and turns his head into Caleb’s shoulder to muffle his excited sounds. The ginger laughs, rubbing over Molly’s lower back. He disturbs multiple coins and pearls, clacking and tinkling following his hand’s strokes.

“Poor Molly, she’s got you wound around her tiny finger, just like Jester.”

“Oh, don’t you- pot calling the kettle black!” Molly huffs.

“You know” Caleb starts to whisper, looking at the tip of Molly’s nose.

“We can steal her. I can teleport us out of here and they’ll never find us.”

“Stop it.” The tiefling smiles despite his words, hoisting Viola up a little to lay her head on his collarbone. His horns have grown large enough to make a shoulder hold nearly impossible.

“I could never do that. Jester loves her so much and Beau would kill for her obviously. At least kill us without a second thought.” He sighs, rubbing a hand over Viola’ back.

Caleb looks at Molly, takes in the faint crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes, the wrinkles starting to become permanent from his many laughing hours.

“You look good, holding her.” He starts, winding his arms around Molly’s middle.

The tiefling even blushes more than before, eyes cast to the floor.

“Stop it.” He says again, weaker this time.

“No, really. You’re glowing. Makes me think that maybe we should-“

“Are you sure?” Molly interrupts him, one hand coming up to curl into Caleb’s shirt.

His breathing is faster and there is something in his eyes.

“Of course, Liebling. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Molly sighs, leaning down to kiss Viola’s rosé head.

“It's just... There is a lot to do, be careful of, take care of. Back when Kiri was with us, we were so bad at taking care of her that I was afraid that she would-“ Stopping himself, he kisses Viola again.

“I’m afraid we’re still bad at it, what if the little one is allergic to something, but we don’t know! Not until it’s too late, or what if-“

Caleb just smiles, waiting for Molly to tire himself out, spill all the fears he has inside him into the open. He lets his thoughts wander to a different time, maybe in the near future, with Molly standing in their kitchen with a small child by his side, Caleb himself in bed with a small, warm body curled up in his arms...

“Right?”

Blinking, Caleb comes back into the present, tilting his head. Molly is looking up at him expectantly.

“I think the only thing we need to be afraid of, is the baby wearing the same style as you. It could permanently damage it’s eyes.” He tries for a joke, but sees that by not listening to Molly, he’s made a grave mistake.

“I’m serious.” Molly hisses, stepping away from Caleb, who walks after him.

“And I’m too. I’ll read every book we can find. I’ll know everything there is to know. And you’ll be so loving and doting that nothing will be able to slip past you. We can ask Jester and Beau for advice. I don’t see where this could go wrong.”

“But- but what if it’s just not enough?” Molly says, his voice small.

“I- I don’t know my parents. Are they still alive? Do they m-miss me? Were they sad about Lucien dying? Do they even know? I- I happened because at some point… they made a mistake and... it- it wasn’t enough… Would they-“ A hiccup and a sniffle have Caleb stepping after his husband, arms raised and ready for a tight hug. Hearing her godfather cry, Viola whimpers before breaking into tears herself, clinging to Molly’s shirt while her stumpy tail lashes through the air where it sticks out from the baby sling.

“Oh- oh no, I’m sorry little flower, I didn’t want to make you cry.” Molly sobs, his own tears flowing freely now as he pats her on the back.

Pulling them both against his chest, Caleb tries to be, for once in his life, a calming and grounding presence, unmoved by the storm of life. Humming and stroking his hand up and down over Viola’ back and Molly’s side he holds both sobbing tieflings until they only hiccup and sniffle after they’ve run out of tears.

“I’m sorry, Caleb, it’s just…” Molly sighs, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for." The ginger soothes him, kissing his forehead in turn.

"I’m just unhappy that I can’t give you the answers for your questions, Liebling.” He whispers back, lifting his hand to cup Molly’s jaw and brush away the tears.

“All I know is… that I’m thankful. Thankful that you’re here, here with us, with me. I’m so lucky.” Caleb smiles down at Molly, who furrows his brow as he tries to stave off more tears.

“To me- what happened to you. It was horrible, and scary but it also was not in the least not enough… it was just enough to bless me with my husband that I can't imagine to be without. And there are kids out there, small ones, who are alone, and we could be just enough for them to have a happy life.”

Molly opens his mouth to say something, but Caleb gently puts a finger of his lips, asking the tiefling to let him finish.

“You are a happy person, a good person, Mollymauk. In spite of what happened to you. You’re strong, you’re the sum of all the people loving you and more, and you’ll give it to our little one, to make it strong like you. Despite whatever may come.”

Viola wails when they give her back to her two mothers, they coo over her and try to soothe the ache of losing Molly, thanking him and Caleb for babysitting the little tiefling. Molly’s face is no longer puffy or red, his eyes though are tired while his grip on Caleb’s hand is tight as they wave after their retreating friends. 

“Yes.” He says, voice unwavering, as he stares after them.

“Molly?”

“Yes, let’s do it. We’re going to have a baby.”

The tiefling turns around, a smile blooming on his face like the flower of sunrise, lighting up his whole being. An equal grin takes over Caleb face and he surges forward, cradling Molly’s face in his hands for a devouring kiss.

“_Ja- ja_. You’re going to be amazing, Mollymauk. Thank you.”

“No I- thank you, Caleb, for believing. You’ll be great, I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful papa.” They kiss again, laughing and sighing as they calm down from the giddiness.

"We'll have to ask Jester for the address of this orphanage-"

"And prepare your office for the little one-"

They stop talking and simply look each other in the eyes, equally filled with happiness.

“Just-“ Caleb starts, drawing back slightly, a mischievous smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“-maybe loose the coat?”

Molly gasps, mock hitting Caleb on the chest.

“I’m offended, Caleb, this is a fashion revival and you have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“I give you fashion, but at least let me name the little one, you obviously have horrible taste.” Caleb complains in jest, tugging on a coat sleeve.

“Oh, you take that back! I’m wonderful with names!”

“Of course you are, Mollymauk Tealeaf.”

“That was Gustav’s idea and you know it.”

They lovingly argue until they get home, then stop for an hour to have heated sex, and then resume their bickering while watching TV, until finally reaching an agreement as Caleb grabs Molly’s arm and taps his finger on a bloom at his wrist.

_Iris._


	6. Day 6 - Modern/Kindness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter following the timeline, chapter seven is a stand-alone.
> 
> Molly has the flu and his family takes care of him, Yasha included :)

A light kiss being pressed to his sweaty forehead wakes Molly from his delirious sleep. He groans as his joints ache from the blanket’s weight. Something warm is touching his face and a breath of air wafts over his cheek.

“Love you.” Caleb whispers to him, hands gently stroking over the sides of Molly’s face.

The tiefling wakes a little more, whines, and wills his heavy body to move and roll over to where his husband is standing next to their big fluffy bed. Caleb huffs a surprised laugh. It seems he’d been hoping to slip out without waking Molly from his much needed sleep.

“Already?” Molly groans, extending an arm into the cool air to catch Caleb’s sweater between his fingers.

“Ja- the flight is due in four hours.” Caleb explains, moving closer to make it easier for Molly to hold on.

“Don’t leave…”

Molly blinks up at him, in the twilight dark of their bedroom Caleb is barely more than a shadow that’s getting distorted by the pounding behind Molly’s forehead. Bending down again, this time to kiss Molly on the cheek, and the tiefling wrinkles his nose as the stubble rasps over his sensitive skin, Caleb continues to talk in a calm, soothing voice, unphased by Molly’s whining.

“I wrote a note for the kids, I’ll kiss them goodbye with a proof selfie I’ll send you later. Yasha texted me that she’ll be over by seven to get them ready. School knows and they got you substituted.”

He takes a moment to think, then nods to himself.

“Everything is taken care of. Sleep, _Liebling_.”

“Wonderful, but- Four days- I don’t want you to leave.” Molly grouses, holding on to Caleb’s sweater.

Despite his will to fight, he already feels sleep creeping up on him again.

“We’ll skype and call, I’ll be back before you know it.”

“And hopefully I’m not sick anymore by then.”

Chuckling, Caleb kisses Molly’s cheek again, cupping his jaw.

“It’s alright, I love you despite your runny nose.”

Gathering some of his last strength, Molly sits up on his elbows, tilting forward slightly. Caleb quickly catches him, letting Molly lean against him. Winding both arms around the ginger’s middle, Molly mumbles into his stomach.

“Damn this flu, I wanted to say a proper goodbye but I’m too gross and weak for that.”

Caleb is quiet for a minute, gently stroking down over Molly’s back and combing his fingers through his matted hair, making warm shivers run over Molly. He’s not entirely sure if those are due to the fever or the love he feels for his husband, but Molly knows what he wants it to be. Much too soon Caleb lays him down again, fluffing the pillows, tugging him in and straightening the blankets, ignoring Molly’s protests. He dips down for a last kiss to the tiefling’s forehead, hand stroking over his cheek.

“I’d rather have you sleep more and rest, then you can say a proper welcome when I come back.” Caleb whispers against the lavender skin.

Molly takes his hand and presses a kiss to the back of it.

“You’ll eat three meals a day?”

“_Ja_.”

“Sleep for at least six hours?”

“I can’t promise, there will be lots of interesting things-“

“You’ll be faithful to your ailing husband?”

“Of course.”

Smiling softly, Molly squeezes Caleb’s hand.

“Take care of yourself, darling. I miss you already.”

Laughing quietly, Caleb leans down to kiss Molly’s forehead.

“I’ll never get to leave if you continue stalling like that. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I can’t wait. Safe travels, love. You’ll be great. Love you lots.”

“Thank you, Mollymauk. Love you too.”

Molly feels Caleb’s hand slip from his grip, stroking over his chest and belly to check on the blankets.

The last thing Molly sees is the bedroom door opening to let a little more light seep into the room. Then the slit closes and he falls back asleep, the fuzziness in his head gentling all thoughts into dreams.

Molly knows that Caleb’s joints won’t ever be able to get into this position without snapping, but hey… That’s what dreams are for, right? It’s wonderful, until a hand lands on his soft stomach, followed by weight. Wheezing, Molly wakes up and looks around disoriented before he finds his son crawling up the bed, pants and shirt on but socks only half-done. Molly sits up, reaching out without a second thought.

“Zaza…” He sniffs, falling limp as Molly’s arms wind around him to pull him up.

“Max- what’s up?”

“Where’s Papa? I want Papa to give me a goodbye kiss.”

Green eyes grow watery as Maximilian takes the empty side of bed in, looking over to the door to find his Papa’s coat missing.

“Where’s Papa?” He then asks, more urgently than before, pale human skin growing red in places.

Molly ignores the headache that started the moment he woke up again, running his hands through Max’s feathery hair. At least the bedroom is still dim, his eyes thankful for less stress.

“Papa is on an airplane, Sweetling. You know he needed to leave to talk with other clever people.” Max stares up at Molly.

The tears are rolling now.

“He said he would say goodbye!”

“Oh, he did, Max. Fetch my phone for me, please.” Molly says, catching the tears with his hand.

Rolling over the bed, Max reaches for the object laying on the bedside table, giving it to Molly before burrowing down into his side. Molly suppresses a wince, winding his arm around slim shoulders. Unlocking the phone takes longer then normally, then Molly turns on the WIFI and a plethora of messages starts to trickle in. He ignores them for now, going straight into the chat with Caleb to find three messages, two pictures and one message that under parental guidance may not be disclosed in the presence of children. Opening the second picture, the tiefling turns the phone for Maximilian to see. It’s from a weird angle, Molly can see Caleb straining his shoulder to hold the arm just right as he snaps a selfie while buzzing a kiss to Max’s forehead as he sleeps.

“See, he came to say goodbye, you just were asleep, sweetling.”

Max takes the phone from Molly’s hand, one of his own going up to his forehead like the picture awoke the feeling of a kiss on his skin from a sleepy half-memory.

They spent a quiet minute of cuddling, Molly almost nods off again, but then Iris comes running into the bedroom, already clad in her rain jacket.

“Max! Yasha says she has to get you ready for kindergarten so get out of Zaza’s bed!”

She hops up and down by the bedside, hands planted on the mattress to jiggle them all.

“Issy, stop it, I’m going to be sick.” Molly complains, miming a vomiting sound.

“Yasha! Zaza is puking in the bed!” Iris calls over to the door, running in a half circle to the other bedside, away from Molly.

Max is looking up at him with horror in his eyes, apparently wondering if he should run away too or not. A deep sigh from the door heralds Yasha’s arrival, her huge frame blocking the door for a moment.

“Come on you two. You need to get out, we’re running out of time.”

“No compassion for the ill.” Molly complains, leaning down into the pillows.

“I feel so frail. Yasha…”

Stepping close to him, Yasha bends down. Molly thinks he’s getting a hug, but instead she lifts Max out of his arms.

“Caleb warned me of you, Molly. First I take care of the kids, then we cuddle or I’ll never get them out on time.”

Waving to Max, Molly huffs good-naturedly. Iris takes the chance to slip into his vacated spot, sidling up to Molly.

“Zaza, you’re still sick?”

“Very much, little flower. Here, feel my forehead.”

Molly bends down a little to let the dark red hand touch his face.

“So warm!” Iris exclaims, moving to straddle Molly to lean into his chest.

“Will cuddles help? I don’t want to leave you but Yasha says school is important.”

“Cuddles will help of course.” Molly hums, pulling Iris against his chest and she winds her arms around his neck.

No use keeping a distance to not pass the flu to her, it’s probably already in the whole house, at school… He just hopes he’ll be back on his feet before it hits a little one.

“School is very important.” Molly remembers that his daughter has said something about that.

“Your Papa went to school for a long time and see how smart he is? Everyone is totally flabbergasted at how much he knows and we’re all very proud of him.”

He reserves the talk about how stopping school to start working is perfectly fine too for maybe in ten years’ time, if it should get to that.

“Did he say goodbye to me too?” Iris asks, Molly diligently reaches for his phone and shows her Caleb’s kiss selfie with her, expertly avoiding her yet small antelope horns.

“Of course, you know we love both of you lots.”

“How much?” The small tiefling asks, her tail waving through the air as she tilts her head with an eager smile, her eyes with almost black irises big.

“Ah, you’re learning the numbers, right? What’s the biggest number you know?” Molly questions her, rubbing hands over her back to distract himself from the shivery feeling of his own skin.

“Twenty!” She says, holding up her hands with fingers outstretched.

She makes them wiggle twice.

“That’s so much!”

“So, twenty is plenty big, right?”

Iris nods, Max slips inside the bedroom behind her and clambers up onto the bed again. He presses himself into the tiny gap at Molly’s side, the lavender tiefling taking the time to wind an arm around the boy’s middle to hold both children in his lap. He’s become an expert in maneuvering them while preventing tiny knees from landing in sensitive places. When they’re both settled, Molly kisses both on the forehead.

“Me and Papa always say we love you both to the moon and back, right? The distance between the moon and the earth, that is a lot of twenties. So many, that I can’t even tell you how many. That’s how much we love you two.”

Grinning, Max flops forward, hiding his face in Molly’s neck as Iris’ fists cling to Molly’s sleep shirt.

“To the moon and back.” She repeats, face lighting up after a second.

“That’s a lot!”

Yasha steps into the door, leaning against the frame to give them another second for themselves. Molly winks at her, then nods towards his daughter. Buzzing another kiss to each forehead, he says “Love you.” before releasing them.

“Now be nice and go with Yasha, see you in the afternoon, okay?”

Molly listens to Yasha returning, bustling around the kitchen and living room, then she wanders over to the bathroom to empty the laundry, hanging clothes out to dry in the garden. Turning his head a little, Molly can catch a glimpse, laughing as she pulls a face whenever encountering any of his frilly underwear. Then she putters around the kitchen again before walking into the bedroom with a mug of tea. On the mug it says “The Library is calling and I must go” which makes Molly grin.

“How are you feeling?” She asks, carefully putting the mug next to Molly on the nightstand.

Settling down on the bed in black harem pants and a tight black T-shirt, she looks like a sexy black hole amongst the garishly coloured interieur.

“Horrible.” Molly tells her, showing his best suffering face.

A big hand lands on his forehead, then skims down without any preamble and dips below his collar to press flat to his chest.

“Oh-“ He purrs, waggling his eyebrows, “eager, Yasha, no foreplay-“

“Shut up, you’re burning.” The aasimar cuts him off, tugging the blankets higher up his torso.

“Stop it, I’m not a mummy.” He complains, batting at her weakly before getting shoved down into the pillows.

“Will you stop being insufferable if we cuddle?” Yasha inquires, laying down beside him under the blankets.

Slyly looking over at her, Molly narrows his eyes.

“Maybe…” He hedges, tail tip flicking from side to side unseen.

“I’ll cuddle you if you drink your tea first.”

Molly rolls his eyes, but lays on his side, obediently reaching for the tea and draining half of it.

“I can’t drink more.” He then complains when Yasha eyes him, pouting a little for effect.

She sighs, scooting closer to wrap an arm around him as she slots him against her chest. Snuggling into her embrace, Molly presses his nose against the soft skin of her neck, wrapping arms around her middle but keeping his hands to himself, because with Yasha you only make mistakes once.

They have ten minutes of wonderful warm bliss for Molly before Yasha’s phone buzzes four times, making them both groan. She reaches out to take it from her pocket, sliding it open, but not fast enough for Molly to not see her background.

“Why do you- Yasha!”

“Caleb sent it to me.”

“The traitor!”

It’s a picture of Molly at Jester and Beau’s, in the process of booby trapping the cupboard containing Beau’s training protein packs. A cup of hot tea is on his head, eyes big and tail straight in surprise as he stares up at the camera. He’s holding a piece of rubber band in his hands, caught red-handed. Molly swears that Caleb is a cat himself, sneaking up on him silently sometimes to make him jump. He’s just glad he didn’t back then, too shocked from being snuck on.

“We both think you look cute.” Yasha says unphased, opening the messages the received from Beau.

“Beau is complaining, isn't she?” Molly asks, turning his head to cuddle back into the warmth.

“A little bit, we wanted to go train today.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Yash. Makes it all so much better.”

Molly’s voice is tiny, no bravado, and Yasha smiles without him seeing it, squeezing him with her arms.

“No problem. She asks if you’re still alive, says you complained to her like crazy yesterday.”

Snorting, Molly blinks up at her.

“Tell her ‘_Mollymauk Tealeaf lives_’. And give her the bird for me please.”


	7. Day 7 - Free Day

There is one thing that Caleb hates more than having nothing to do. It’s when a ship appears at the horizon and his brethren and sisters can’t withstand the temptation to lead it to its demise. Their sweet songs echo over the grey sea, the water milky from minerals so the sharp stones just underneath the surface are invisible. Caleb really hates the sound of a ship’s belly getting sliced to pieces on them, the garish sound of rocks crumbling and souls tumbling into foaming water. And then comes the blood. He really hates it.

The last time a ship had appeared on the horizon, Caleb had jumped into the water and swam away. Not far, but far enough to be out of sight and ear shot. He knew what he and his brethren and sisters are, that there was no way he would be able to stop them or even make them consider a different path. Like there are sharks to feed on tortoises, and crabs to eat the small riff fishes, there are sirens to lure sailors into their hungry, fanged mouths. Didn’t mean he has to participate though.

Today, the sun is high up in the sky again and not one cloud is there. The deep blue and the light blue intermingle and flicker towards the thin line of the horizon. Lazily, Caleb scoops up some water and lets it drip onto the stone’s surface he is perched on. Today is a boring day, he doesn’t have any new books to read and the old ones he has already read too often. The seagulls don’t tell him anything new, only talking about the fishes and the crabs they caught and ate, or about their mates.

He wonders if he could have something like that too, one day.

There are waves every day, the sun and the breeze. Sometimes the sun is hot and sometimes the breeze is wild and more of a storm. But it is the same view and the same small island every day.

Caleb swims out into the open ocean each day, away from his brethren and sisters and watches the horizon, wondering about how far he might get, and he envies the birds that are gliding above his head into the distance.

On one of those days, he is startled out of his usual thoughts by a loud splash. Caleb jumps and turns around, looking at a mollymawk, flapping his wings tiredly as he floats on the water’s surface. He peeps miserably and paddels as the current drags him further away from the stone Caleb lounges on.

“Hey-“ Caleb starts to speak, but the bird is already too far away to hear him, and he quickly decides. Elegantly, Caleb slides into the water and curls his fish tail to propel him closer. Carefully he comes up, a safe distance away and gently reaches his hands out.

“Hey. You want help? Rest?”

The bird’s head swivels around and Caleb is being pinned by piercing white eyes that have a red circle framing them. The elegant grey feathers bristle and the bird flaps again.

“I take it as a yes.” Caleb whispers and lifts his hands to take a hold of the bird’s body. It screeches and bats with it’s wings, beak opened and posed threateningly.

“I’m helping you. Calm down.”

Slowly, Caleb manages to relocate the mollymawk to his sunny stone and sets it down a few feet away from himself.

“There, only half as bad as you thought.”

The mollymawk stays for days, at first it doesn’t trust Caleb further than it’s beak can reach, then it becomes increasingly amicable, probably due to the fish and small crabs that Caleb brings to it. After the fifth day, the bird lets Caleb pet it’s head and from that day on, it’s like a spell has been broken.

They become fast friends, the bird settling into Caleb’s lap as he feeds it fish that he caught or while he shades it from the midday sun. Though the bird doesn’t know much, Caleb has more than enough to share for both of them and the siren loves the way the mollymawk nuzzles him and cuddles up to him whenever it’s possible. At night Caleb tells it about the stars, listening to the mollymawk telling him about the world it has seen for the past two years of its life. The sky is what it is talking about the most. The endless sky, the winds and clouds.

“Do you have a name I could use?” Caleb wonders one day, swishing his fin through the water lazily. Of in the distance his brethren and sisters are singing to lure whoever might be in earshot, but Caleb is too far away to hear. He has cupped the mollymawk’s ears to not lose his friends to the treacherous sounds that tell bitter lies coated as sweet stories.

The bird just blinks up at him, content to be cuddled. His feet are tugged underneath his body, safely hidden away under soft feathers. He looks so peaceful that Caleb’s heart aches, aches like it knows the hurt of a different life, one filled with anger, fear and pain, but there is also a different spark. Love, affection and the devotion. Gently, he lowers his head to put his forehead against that of the mollymawk.

“I feel like in some other life, I’ve known you.”

A ship comes one day, those sailors are different from the ones before. They don’t care for the song his sisters and brethren are singing. They have a different objective. Having seen the danger first, the other sirens slide into the water and vanish, but Caleb doesn’t know. The mollymawk notices first, swinging itself into the air to call a warning while it keeps an eye on the ship. Caught by surprise, stares up at the ship, then the noose is around Caleb’s neck before he knows what is happening. His bird- his mate- it’s trying to hack at the sailors, do something.

It earns it a bolt shooting through its wing, leaving a bloody hole and the mollymawk falls from the sky, floating on the ocean’s surface, a white and grey dot in the dark blue mass, helpless. Caleb stops struggling against the tightness as his gills are damaged by the rope and falls limp, the bird calls in desperation but it’s too late. The sailors haul the siren on board, only to find his eyes empty and the body lifeless. They let the body fall over the side, letting it sink to the bottom of the ocean.

The blasted ship vanishes, and the mollymawk is alone again, hurt and without a mate and friend. Flapping weakly, it manages to get back to their rock, the rock it has it’s nest on. Mourning, it covers it’s head with a wing and weeps until the sun rises again. What is it going to do now? Having lost its mate, it feels so hopeless.

Another day passes, the mollymawk staring at the ocean, down into its depth that swallowed the siren’s body. They met so quickly and lost each other the same way. The bird doesn’t have eyes for the sky, not anymore. The dark ocean is where its thoughts are leading it.

The flutter next to it shocks the mollymawk, but what could happen to it now? It’s wing is not healed yet and there is no Caleb to protect it.

A gentle beak ruffles it’s feathers and then warmth settles into the nest next to it.

_I thought as much, I knew that you and I met in another life, Mollymauk._

Slowly, the mollymawk turns his head, taking in the bird sitting next to him. It’s a northern gannet, head plumage a soft orange with piercing blue eyes, the body white and slim.

_How about I know you in this one too? _It asks him and nuzzles the mollymawk with its beak.

_You did. _The mollymawk says, remembering that his name was indeed Mollymauk, different but still so similar.

_Let’s make the most of it while we both live, Caleb. _It says, leaning into the gannet’s soft plumage.


End file.
